Anew

24

Gabriel watched as Scarlet strode to the front door, her blue eyes wide and glossy.

She looked scared and overwhelmed, and Gabriel felt helpless. In a panic, he started to follow her out, “Scarlet, wait.”

Tristan shot him a warning look and shifted his body to stand in his way.

Gabriel let out a frustrated sigh, but let Scarlet go.

If she needed some space, he could give her that.

At least for now.

Scarlet silently opened the front door and disappeared outside, the large door slowly falling shut behind her.

A moment of tense silence passed between Gabriel and Tristan.

“Well…that went well.” Tristan crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Gabriel shook his head. “Don’t start.”

“You’re an idiot,” Tristan started.

Gabriel rolled his eyes.

“No, you really are,” Tristan said. “First, you go and introduce yourself to her when we specifically agreed to let her live in peace until the curse was broken. Then you jump into her life so she tracks me down in the woods where—surprise!—she learns Gabriel has a twin brother and she’s going to die. Epic fail, man.”

Gabriel shook his head. “I tried to keep her away, I swear.”

“It doesn’t matter, Gabe. She’s smart. She probably would have found out anyway.”

Gabriel exhaled, staring at the cabin door. “She freaked out.”

“What did you expect her to do? Jump for joy? We just told her she was doomed to die. Again.”

“Yeah, but she usually remembers everything once we tell her when she was born. What happened? Why didn’t she remember this time?”

Tristan shook his head. “I don’t know. But this is exactly why I didn’t want you to meet her. She’s scared, and we’re screwed.”

A moment passed.

Tristan said, “You left out a few details, you know. You didnh’t tell her what the curse actually was?”

Gabriel shook his head. “What was I supposed to do? Tell her she’s my only chance at true love? That would’ve been awkward.”

Tristan said, “But you didn’t tell her about me, either.”

Gabriel shrugged. “I didn’t want to freak her more than necessary. And I didn’t want her to be afraid of you. Sorry Scarlet, but when you’re around Tristan your heart condition gets worse. He basically breaks your heart in half with his presence. No. I didn’t want her thinking you could kill her.”

“But I can.”

“But you won’t. And that’s what matters. You haven’t made her sick yet. We’re fine.” He exhaled.

Tristan flexed a muscle in his jaw. “You need to tell her to stay away from me.”

“If she starts to get sick, I’ll make sure she knows to stay away from you. Until then, I don’t want to add to her fear.” Gabriel ran a hand through his hair. “She’s so scared. What do I do?”

“Nothing,” Tristan said, shaking his head. “Just…give her some space and let her process everything you told her today. You can’t just expect her to trust you immediately. You told her things that probably sound insane. Let her be for a while. When she’s ready, she’ll come back.”

Gabriel shook his head. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing while she’s freaking out about dying. I have to find a way to comfort her. I have to do something.” Desperation came over him. He looked around the room for a moment before looking back at Tristan. “I have to find a way to break the curse immediately. We have to find the fountain.”

Tristan rolled his eyes.

“There has to be something we missed before—”

“No, Gabriel. We’ve looked everywhere. The fountain is a dead end.”

“No.” Gabriel shook his head. “I refuse to give up. I will find it. For Scarlet.”

Tristan sighed. “Good luck with that. In the meantime, I’ll be pursuing murder so we can really break the curse.” He moved toward the back door.

“Where are you going?”

Tristan didn’t turn around. “Target practice. It’s been a rough day.”

Tristan went out the back door as Gabriel headed upstairs to go back through his research on the fountain of youth.

Tristan’s plan might work, but Gabriel didn’t have time to wait around for his brother to come home with a corpse.

Scarlet was probably scared out of her mind and needed reassurance—something Gabriel was determined to give her.